Greenwood Fire Department 1869-1925
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Early History of The Greenwood Fire Department 1869-1925 The story of Greenwood and the ultimate advancement of fire protection in that community goes back to the very early part of the 1800s. We know that the backcountry or inland areas of South Carolina really began to open up to colonial frontiersmen, especially at the turn of the 19th century. We, also, know the town of Greenwood was named for the plantation of a settler, John McGehee, in 1824 which was the site of the first white settlement in the piedmont region of the state. The Greenwood archives reveal that a number of schools were built around 1830 in the area to accommodate the growing population of families. Railroads helped to make the area a transportation hub for the agricultural market and the vast numbers of visitors coming into the region. At one time, it is reported that nearly 27 trains plodded their way through the small town which was finally chartered/incorporated in 1857. Unfortunately, Greenwood was like so many other communities, villages, towns and cities of the day which experienced the frequent visits of “the fire fiend.” The author, Nancy Backes, said “Americans had for many years helplessly watched their little wooden towns burn and be rebuilt and burn again.” Greenwood was certainly no different, and out of necessity, these fires brought attention to the need to better safeguard its citizens from the ravages of unwanted fires. This writer will attempt to amplify the rich history of the fire department that is available in order to expand on the struggles, leadership, major challenges, and progression of the Greenwood Fire Department. The history provided in the following pages are taken verbatim from various newspaper articles and commentaries with an occasional observation of this researcher. So, let’s begin! The Abbeville Press and Banner published on July 24, 1895, that “a fire broke out here about four o’clock Monday morning in the rear part of Tolbert’s livery and sales stables. Fortunately, it was discovered in time by Greenwood’s vigilant night watchman, Mr. W. R. McKinney, who immediately gave the alarm, and numbers of citizens reached the fire in time to prevent a conflagration. It was the work of an incendiary. Shavings and matches were found at the place where the fire originated.” The article underlines the fact that fire protection in the town was dependent on curious citizens answering an alarm and doing what they could with what they had at hand to fight fires. In most cases citizens utilized buckets of water, wet blankets, and axes in an attempt to arrest a fire. However, if the fire was not caught in its beginning stages of progression, the citizens became salvage crews by removing contents and belongings. The earliest mention of Greenwood addressing the need for improved fire protection is found in the January 1, 1896, edition of the Abbeville Press & Banner. The reporter states that “Greenwood has purchased a fire engine and fixtures, to be delivered soon, first of January I hear. A step in the right direction. Something that we have needed a long time. No progressive city the size of Greenwood can well do without a fire engine.” Then, according to the fire department’s own history, The Greenwood Index printed a detailed article on February 25, 1896, which reveals the town hosted representatives from Newberry, Laurens, and Abbeville Counties to observe a demonstration of the Lundgren Chemical Engine manufactured by the Racine Fire Engine Company of Wisconsin. Apparently, this device was a hand-drawn, two-wheeled cart affixed with one or two 30 to 40-gallon cylinders filled with a mixture of water and bicarbonate of soda. When positioned to attack a fire, a fireman would rotate the cylinders to mix a proportioned amount of sulfuric acid. The mixture would then create a chemical reaction that would force under pressure the liquid through a rubber hose to hopefully extinguish a blaze. These “chemical engines” were essentially a large version of the old 2 ½ gallon soda-acid fire extinguishers. In that day and time, they were very effective if brought quickly to the fire scene. Again, the reporter for the Abbeville Press & Banner announces the arrival of the town’s new apparatus in their February 26, 1896, printing of the paper. It states, “Greenwood’s fire engine and hook and ladders have come. The engine is a chemical fire extinguisher. We get them on trial. If we like it we are to pay for it, if not we return it. This is something that Greenwood has needed for a long time. I think every town that can, ought to buy an engine. I don’t know what it cost.” Still there is much confusion concerning did Greenwood buy any sort of apparatus or not, and did the town have an organized fire company. This writer researched the digital files of the Sanborn Map collection of South Carolina to see if it could shed some light on the issue, and I found some interesting facts. The Sanborn Map Company out of New York was an early version of ISO today. The company published detailed information and maps of towns and cities during the 19th and 20th centuries. Today they are useful for historical research and contain enormous amounts of information regarding the strength of local fire departments and details of their water works. The Sanborn Maps dated June of 1898 reveals that the Water Works was not even in the process of being constructed but is to be in operation by August 10, 1898. Really? When completed the system would have a pumping station, an elevated steel tank 100 ft. high with a 200,000 capacity. The mains will vary from 10” to 4” along the business portion of town. There will be 54 dbl. hydrants with an average pressure of 50 psi. Now, there was a notation of importance that says the town is “to have hose carts and hose when water works in operation.” Interestingly, it’s a bit clearer now that the town actually did not purchase the apparatus discussed on numerous occasions. And, what is clear is that in 1896, there was no “organized” fire delivery system as evidenced by the Evening Index, October 11, 1898, article which says, “It would be the irony of fate for a destructive fire to visit Greenwood just after the water works system is completed, and before we have an organized fire company. The water works will be worth mighty little to us without an equipped and drilled fire company.” But, the first mention of organizing a fire company for the town is gleaned from town council records dated October 14, 1898. It seems that D. C. DuPree, W. G. Gambrell, and James O. Singleton were “appointed as a committee to organize said company and take charge of hose.” Curiously, there apparently was no action taken between October and December when council met on December 6, 1898, to respond to a petition requesting that a fire company be organized, but no action was taken except to appoint J. T. Simmons as chairman, J. T. McKellar and W. G. Gambrell of a new committee. Finally, council appears to have taken some action in the new year, some nine months later on September 14, 1899, when Mr. W. B. Iler was elected chief of the fire department. According to town records, there is some mention “of fire hose not being properly cared for and the recommendation that a house be erected to care for the hose and reel and a committee was appointed for that purpose and to complete the organization of the fire company.” It’s very difficult for this writer to decipher what actually took place between the showing of the chemical engine in 1896 and 1899. However, it seems consistent with the reporting that ultimately the town did not purchase any apparatus or form any organized fire company other than purchasing fire hose and a two-wheel, hand-drawn reel to carry several hundred feet of hose. The council’s thinking was likely why waste money when we will soon have a water system with hydrants that we can connect to in order to apply water on a fire. Be that as it may, we know that Mr. Iler seemingly did organize some sort of fire company as reflected in the March 7, 1901, edition of the Evening Index paper. The headlines read, “GREENWOOD’S FIRE COMPANY,” with the following commentary: “What has become of our company of gallant fire laddies? Greenwood’s Fire Department was organized in name, and the usual apathy fell upon it, and---well, that’s all of it. A commendable spirit of interest was manifested by the young men, and it is not well to let this feeling go unrecognized. The possibilities of a fire company were fully shown at the little blaze at the Court House recently. There is no matter so important, so vital, so necessary as this one of a thoroughly organized, thoroughly equipped fire company. Let the City Council give good heed to the needs of our Volunteer Fire Company, and The Index will vouch for their faithfulness.” This writer senses that the town’s citizens were becoming frustrated over the lack of a really efficient organized fire department as evidenced by yet another article in The Daily Index which headlined on September 28, 1902, “HOW MUCH LONGER.” It goes on to say, “How much longer are we to do without an organized fire company? How many thousand dollars more are we to invest in bonfires before we get tired of the thing and have a few dollars invested in equipping a fire department.